


Of Hugs and Dreams and Bright Yellow Cakes

by DopeyTheDwarf



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Gen, Maeve Wiley Needs a Hug, Post-Season/Series 02, can be read as romantic or platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22318234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DopeyTheDwarf/pseuds/DopeyTheDwarf
Summary: The day after Maeve’s mother is taken by the police, Maeve finds herself mourning the possibilities she didn’t even know she had started hoping for. She cleans, she cries and she finds comfort from an unexpected friend.
Relationships: Aimee Gibbs & Maeve Wiley, Aimee Gibbs/Maeve Wiley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 145





	Of Hugs and Dreams and Bright Yellow Cakes

**Author's Note:**

> Isaac is a manipulative asshat who should stay far away from Maeve. Here is me writing an ending where Maeve gets all the support she deserves.

The day after the social workers took her mother away, Maeve went on a cleaning spree until her entire trailer gleamed. She gathered her mother's - Erin's - things until they made a tidy pile in the corner before turning around and fixing everything else. She washed the plates and did the laundry and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until her hands cramped and the house gleamed.

It was the nail polish that did it.

One minute she was happily scrubbing away all evidence of her mother's stay, and the next she was sobbing over a bottle of nail polish she tipped over in her haste to get all the stuff away. It was pink, the kind that would have matched her hair last year, and she thinks she would have loved it if not for the fact that her mother bought it.

In a burst of rage, she picks it up and throws it as hard as she could at her walls. She barely hears the crash over her own sobs, and then suddenly her knees feel like jelly and it was all she could do to crash down onto the sofa instead of the floor.

It's too much. It feels like the whole world just crashed down her, and she'd say she's used to it, but this time she brought it on herself and there is no one else to blame except her. She thinks of the nail polish and the little plant still on the counter, and for a moment, she dreams of a life where she gets to keep people and to have good things. She imagines a future where her mother is sober - pictures a nice roomy house with a lot of windows, and her and sister and mother just lounging around contently like a nice proper family.

The image feels so absurd that Maeve can only laugh, the sound harsh and bitter, grating against her throat. And then the laughter turns into tears because really, in a trainwreck like this, crying seems to be as good an idea as any. She thought she had given up hope after it sunk in that her family was never coming back. Apparently not.

She curls into the tiniest ball she could manage, wrapping her arms around her legs. And then she rocks herself back and forth because she's learned very early on that no one else probably would. The position makes her back hurt, but everything seems to hurt these days, and at the very least, she can soothe her back later. Not much can be done for her heart.

"Maeve?"

Her head snaps up from where she’s tucked it behind her legs. Her name sounds almost timid, but the sound echoes in the empty trailer, and she jolts anyway. It is only when she has managed to calm her heart down that she registers Aimee, standing in front of her doorway, looking very much like a deer caught in the headlights.

Aimee is carrying a box with her, and it's easy enough to guess what's in it - unfortunate cakes, salty cupcakes, oven experiments gone wrong and yet still so lovingly presented. That’s Aimee for you.  
It’s much harder to understand why she was here at all.

"Maeve?" She steps forward, slow and careful as if she might spook her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Maeve hastily wipes her tears away. "What are you doing here?"

"I baked a cake for you!" Aimee perks up just a little even her worry still feels so palpable. "You guys won! On live television too!"

She then sets down her box on the table before sitting down on the couch. True to her words, inside the box is a large yellow cake with green icing forming letters on top.

"See! I even drew your little bow at the bottom!"

_Congrats Maeve!_

And indeed, there is a misshapen little bow under the letters, all crooked and smushed and yet done with such obvious care that Maeve can’t help but stare. Maeve's world stops for a moment. And then it stutters back to life after finding herself wrapped tight in Aimee's arms.

She does not know how she went from slightly upright to being tucked under Aimee's chin. But she is, and as much as she wants to push Aimee away, Maeve is just so tired of being alone all the goddamn time. So she curls deeper into Aimee's arms and buries her face on her chest. There are hands patting her gently on the back, and she relishes in the touch - allows herself to feel safe and warm even if for just the moment.

There are words for what happened, Maeve knows this, but they get stuck in her throat and all her attempts to get them out just burns. Aimee does not seem to need them though. She merely cards her fingers through Maeve’s hair and allows her to soak her shirt with the stupid tears that just seem to never stop flowing. She shushes Maeve when she begins to apologize for the shirt and just starts babbling about her latest baking mishaps.

A warmth starts settling into Maeve’s chest not long after, and at long last, her sobs peter out into hiccups before completely going away. Still, she keeps her head on Aimee’s chest. She closes her eyes, lays still, and soaks in Aimee’s touches. She knows she runs the risk of falling asleep like this, but Maeve is tired. She has been for a long time now, and just this once, she will allow herself the luxury of comfort and company.

There is cake on the table made just for her, and she is wrapped tight in the arms of someone she's starting to believe actually cares about her. Maeve knows that the hug will eventually have to end - knows well enough that someday, Aimee will leave for good because nothing good in her life stays.

But for now, Aimee is here. And Maeve is allowed to want even if her wishes are nothing more than impossible dreams.


End file.
